The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) presented the Council of Leaders, on October 22, to the Ministers of Finance, Joaquim Levy, and the Minister of the Environment, Izabella Teixeira. The business community proposes the construction of a permanent, high-level dialogue for the development of sustainable business solutions and the elimination of obstacles to their implementation, such as regulatory and market barriers that currently impede their viability.

The Council of Leaders is made up of the main executives of the more than 70 companies associated with CEBDS. Composed of the public and private sectors, it has representatives from civil society, named “observers”. The initiative aims to establish an agenda of at least two annual strategic meetings between business leaders, government and observers, and the formation of technical working groups.

Created by CEBDS to deepen dialogue with the government and develop a joint work plan, the Council of Leaders works based on the 22 proposals in the document “CEBDS Agenda: for a Sustainable Country”, presented to candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in 2014 Of these, three are more developed, in the areas of clean energy generation, mobility and intelligent energy consumption. The next step is to involve government technical staff to refine and move towards implementing the proposals.

Permanently open to the leaders of associated companies, the Council has the active participation of more than 30 senior executives in the development of the “CEBDS Agenda: For a Sustainable Country”.

“We already have business solutions that can be implemented to ensure we move towards a low-carbon economy. However, to make these models viable on a large scale, the government and society need to work together”, says the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi.

TRANSPARENCY

Created on a permanent basis, the Council of Leaders will act transparently in defense of solutions appropriate to the national and global economic context, contributing to the resumption of the country's growth in more sustainable terms.

Studies and proposals presented must be made available on the CEBDS website (www.cebds.org), as well as meeting minutes. The Council will also seek to build a work agenda that includes deadlines and identifies representatives (focal points) from the government and the private sector.

The initiatives can contribute to filling existing gaps, for example, in the Brazilian proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily presented (INDC) by the country to the United Nations (UN) in September.

The set of INDCs from 196 countries, including Brazil, will be the basis for negotiating the new climate agreement in Paris, during the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention (COP 21), in December.

The expectation is that the Paris Conference will establish a new climate agreement capable of preventing the planet's average temperature from exceeding the 2°C limit this century. The new agreement would come into force in 2020, replacing the Kyoto Protocol. In Brazil and around the world, companies are preparing to act considering the new global scenario.

See what Minister Joaquim Levy says about the Council of Leaders:

Know more: Council of Leaders presents proposal to the Ministry of Transport.